Can We Grade The 2015 Redskins Draft Now? Arie Kouandjio Edition

Two years have passed and I think it's safe for us to air our collective judgments about the successes and failures from the 2015 Redskins draft class. As many recall this was a highly anticipated draft as it was the first of Scot McCloughan's short tenure in Washington. The pre-draft excitement was at a high not just because of the players in the class but because for the first time in many years a well-known, well-respected, and proven talent evaluator was helping lead the team in what was the beginning of a rebuild for the team. McCloughan outlined a plan for the team and for the type of player and talent he wanted to fill the team with. By now we all know the what he was looking for. A football player. Size, talent, toughness, someone with innate instincts for their position and understands its not about the individual but about the sum of its parts.

Honestly, the jury is still out on Arie Kouandjio. He hasn’t played much and even from what we have seen I learn toward saying grading his selection with the Redskins second fourth-round pick in 2015 is still too early to call. Kouandjio has selected just seven picks after Jamison Crowder. Much wasn’t expected of him his first year but last season many of us hoped that he would eventually make a push for the starting LG spot. That was realistically a long shot last year because at the beginning of the season Spencer Long and Shawn Lauvao were both slated as left guards. With Long’s move to center during last season, some of us, including myself are still hoping Arie can make a push and challenge Lauvao for the starting job. But with no news or buzz out of Redskins park so far even that prospect is looking slight.

The coaches and staff must still see something in Arie though, even if he just turns out to be a good depth player. Usually, teams are not afraid to cut bait with a mid round player they can immediately see will not pan out. That looks to be the case with the majority of the mid-round guards taken in that draft. Look no further than the Patriots who cut Tre’ Jackson (who was taken with the pick before Arie’s selection and who had an unfortunate knee injury), the Dolphins who cut Jamil Douglas (taken a few picks after Arie and now on the Patriots practice squad), and with Terry Poole who was selected by the Seahawks and released (now on the Dolphins practice squad).

With Arie still seemingly being in the mix I take that as a reassuring sign that the young man is getting better. I think if Arie continues to learn and really work on his consistency he can have a shot this year but I also recognize that he may never turn into a starting caliber guard at least not as a long-term solution. As a 4th round pick, I think that's ok, but I do hope he is a solid backup and I expect him to at least be an ok one. We may have to wait till the end of Arie’s rookie contract to really find out what kind of player he is. That may come on the field on in the form of a new contract. . .or not.

A few interesting players were taken after Arie they include:

Ramik Wilson, LB (Kansas City)
Josh Shaw, CB (Cincinnati Bengals)
Kwon Alexander, LB (Tampa Bay)
Jake Ryan, LB (Green Bay)
Shaq Mason, C/OG (New England)
Mark Glowinski, OG (Seattle)

Would you have rather had any of these players or another with the Skins second fourth round pick? Let me know in the comments!